St. Joseph News, Opinion, Video

Scammers Target Livingston County Residents, Including The Sheriff!

Con artists are once again targeting residents in Livingston County, and Sheriff Steve Cox says there are several varieties of scam being perpetrated.

Several people, including Sheriff Cox, have received calls centered on a fictitious computer glitch.

Cox says the caller, a person with strong foreign accent, tells people their computer has a problem, that they are with Microsoft and can help fix the problem.

“What these creeps are trying to do is get you to give them remote access to your computer,” Cox says. “Once they have that access they also have access to any and all information in your computer, such as financial and personal records, banking information, email, and pictures.”

Some of the scammers are telling citizens they have won all their bills paid for a specific amount of time. All the thieves want is your personal or financial information or a small payment to get this started. Of course the only person going to be paying your bills the next year is you and their ploy is completely bogus, Cox says.

Other scammers have been contacting small businesses and individuals selling on line, saying they are mailing a check, money order, or other method of payment to them for purchase of items.

The con artists then request the victim return the difference via electronic transfer. By the time the original document is identified as a forgery, the victim is already out the money they wired or transferred.